You've only been playing for half a year, and you've already reached the finals?

Chapter 223 Ming Jing is under a lot of pressure.
The moment the FPX base exploded, the stands erupted in cheers.

Tens of thousands of spectators joined together to create a tidal wave of sound that surged toward the stage!
In the commentary booth, Guan Zeyuan shouted at the top of his lungs: "Then let's congratulate EDG! They've taken the lead and won the first game! They've gained the upper hand in this BO5!"

Miller's face showed admiration, "EDG's performance this game was incredible! All five players played exceptionally well! Especially their two carries!"

"Yes!" Ji De nodded in agreement. "This game was practically a showcase for the two carries! Especially the Twisted Fate in the mid lane, it was truly an eye-opener for us!"

"Yes, there's a story behind Little Fei's cards!"

At this moment, the live broadcast camera is focused on the players' seats on both sides.

FPX had just suffered a crushing defeat, so the players' expressions were naturally not good. Several of them looked as black as charcoal, and they didn't even have time to interact with the audience, so they hurriedly left the stage.

On the other side, EDG was much more relaxed, with several players standing up and high-fiving each other in celebration.

"Amazing!" Viper immediately found Ming Jing and gave him a thumbs up.

Although Mingjing's stats in this game weren't particularly impressive, with both kills and damage output falling short of Viper's, if Viper were to vote for MVP, he would still unhesitatingly cast his vote for the mid laner!

There's no other reason than that; without the rhythm of card games, he wouldn't be where he is today.

After all, he was supposed to be at a disadvantage in the laning phase.

But under the rhythm of the cards, he was never at a disadvantage for even a second from beginning to end!
"It's alright, it's alright, I managed to pull off the turtle-like maneuver." Ming Jing was too lazy to take credit, he just put on an air of superiority, calmly waved his hand, and shifted his gaze to the audience.

The scale of this competition was truly impressive.

The Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center was packed with tens of thousands of spectators. Even Ming Jing, who was used to big events, felt his heart pound with excitement as he looked at the sea of ​​heads all around him.

This must be the largest audience he's ever had since he started playing.

After all, the previous finals were strictly controlled, with large gaps between audience seats, which greatly affected the attendance rate. In contrast, the audience this time was much more densely packed.

However, Ming Jing had no time to pay attention to these things. His gaze swept across the inner seats in the front row, trying to find a familiar figure.

However, the spotlights in the commentary booth were blinding, and there was still some distance between them and the audience, which prevented Ming Jing from gaining any insights.

"Go back, what are you looking at?" Jie Jie asked again.

"Oh, it's nothing." Ming Jing smiled and returned backstage with his teammates.

After watching both players leave the field, the director quickly cut to some of the highlights of the match.

Twisted Fate undoubtedly dominated most of the highlights of the match, with the director even starting to show him from the laning phase, recording some of his tricky moves.

Seven minutes in, Twisted Fate ganked the bottom lane, drawing three yellow cards in a row, a crucial move that helped his team secure the victory early!

After the highlight moments, there's the post-match data panel and the MVP screen.

As you can see, Viper's Ezreal undoubtedly had the highest damage output in the game, but what's surprising is that Twisted Fate wasn't far behind, with his damage bar only slightly shorter than Ezreal's.

As for the MVP after the match, there's no need to say more; it can only be given to Twisted Fate!
With a KDA of 6-0-12, a 100% participation rate, and a 29.55% damage share, the data is practically flawless!

The three commentators looked at the data and were all somewhat disheartened.

Just this one game's Twisted Fate card is probably a level that other top mid laners can never reach.

It has to be said that someone like Phi, with his incredible skill, might really be cut out for card games.

"."

Inside the EDG lounge.

A crowd gathered around Ming Jing, showering him with praise.

Especially his cousin Mingkai, who practically stuck his thumb up Mingjing's nostril.

"You played really well that game!" my cousin laughed. "That command was crucial."

Because the backstage lounge is directly connected to the voice channel, everyone could hear the players' conversations.

As early as five minutes into the game, Mingjing had already anticipated that FPX would make a move on the bottom lane after Doinb reached level six, so he had JieJie prepare to move down there in advance.

This is why JieJie would appear in the bottom lane right when the battle started.

Even Mingkai, with his God-like perspective, was completely baffled by that wave of command at the time.

But when the battle actually took place, everyone was amazed by Mingjing's clear thinking and far-sighted vision.

All I can say is that this is what you need to play card games well.

"It was alright," Ming Jing said with a smile. "The brothers all played well this game, so we won quite easily."

This is the truth. The reason why they were able to dominate the game was not only because Viper could carry the game by absorbing resources, but also because Flandre in the top lane had no problems in the disadvantaged laning phase and was more useful than his opponents in team fights.

"Anyway, winning one game makes things much easier," Maokai laughed. "Next game, the opposing team will probably choose the blue side. We'll still give them the mid counter pick, okay?"

The EDG members all nodded, of course, without any objection.

"."

At the same time, inside the FPX lounge.

Everyone was still reeling from the defeat and unable to shake it off.

They prepared a lot for this best-of-five series.

Since losing to EDG in the regular season, they have always regarded EDG as their hypothetical enemy, studying their opponent's vision habits, playstyle, and preparing countless countermeasures.
Because FPX knows that EDG will definitely be the biggest obstacle on their road to the championship!
However, when they finally made it to the finals and faced EDG, they discovered that their preparations were utterly ineffective.

In the first game, they didn't even last 30 minutes.

That's the most frustrating thing.

"Cheer up, everyone, the BO5 has only just begun." Coach Steak didn't say much, but pulled the team aside to discuss the next game. "Coin, what should we do with this card?"

Through the previous game, Steak had already seen how well the cards fit into the current version.

From Lee Sin and Irelia in the regular season to Syndra and LeBlanc now, the popular mid-lane champions have changed drastically, but their roles are actually quite similar.

It exists as the core of rhythm.

He's not a pure utility champion born for jungling in Season 10, nor is he a pure carry champion like Viktor and Orianna in the Spring Split of Season 11.

Instead, it is the core of the early and mid-game rhythm that has a more profound impact on the current situation.

What is required now is influence over the situation in the early stages and dominance in single-lane play in the mid-game.

In contrast, late-game carry potential is secondary. After all, in the Mythic meta, AD carries are almost always overpowered. Even Ezreal, who was notoriously weak in the late game, is now a formidable late-game carry!
And cards were almost created specifically for this environment!

It can only be said that the playoff version came suddenly. With the drastic changes in the mid-lane environment and the extremely low margin for error, no team dared to try anything blindly. They all learned from the successful experience of pioneer Icon and all chose Syndra and LeBlanc, which caused Twisted Fate, the real answer of the version, to be obscured.

EDG had clearly figured out the answer to Twisted Fate long ago, but as a top-ranked team, they had no need to show their understanding and instead kept it hidden all the way to the finals.

That's insidious.

Doinb scratched his head, unsure how to answer.

He has certainly played cards before, and the blue team also has the right to grab them.

However, Doinb wasn't sure how effective this champion, which he hadn't practiced in scrims for a long time, would be. "Let's ban her," Doinb said. "It's their turn to ban Irelia this game, we have enough bans."

Hearing this, Steak sighed helplessly.

That's the only way.

"."

Soon, the break was over, and both players returned to the stage.

As soon as Ming Jing appeared, cheers erupted from all directions!
The fervent cheers of tens of thousands of people stirred up a terrifying commotion within the enclosed venue, leaving everyone breathless with excitement.

It can only be said that the audience is the true meaning of holding offline competitions.

Mingjing debuted during a special period and missed out on so much.

Ming Jing looked at the sea of ​​lights formed by countless light boards and flashes in front of him, waved with a smile, looked around the front row seats, and finally sat down in his seat.

BP activated!
"Alright, the second round of bans and picks has begun! We can see that FPX has exercised their loser's pick right and chosen the blue side! Let's take a look at the ban picks from both sides!"

As soon as Guan Daxiao finished speaking, Twisted Fate appeared directly on FPX's first-floor pick position and quickly disappeared!
"As expected." Miller laughed as soon as he saw it. "FPX will definitely ban Twisted Fate, after all, Xiaofei's performance in the last game was really a bit over the top!"

"It's not just Xiaofei who's exaggerating, Twisted Fate is a bit overrated too!" Remember hit the nail on the head. "I have a feeling Twisted Fate will be a hot pick in the upcoming World Championship!"

As the three were chatting, the first three bans on both sides were completed.

On the blue side, FPX banned Twisted Fate, Lucian, and Syndra.

On the other side, EDG banned Galio, Foyergo, and Aphelios.

Upon seeing the bans from both sides, Guan Daxiao immediately spotted a blind spot: "Huh? They didn't ban Irelia? Then FPX will definitely pick her!"

Just then, FPX's first floor hero lit up and locked onto Irelia!
The audience was buzzing with discussion, while the three commentators in the commentary booth exchanged bewildered glances.

"This game is going to be interesting!" Miller said with a hint of anticipation. "Let's see which champion Xiaofei is going to use to counter Doinb's signature Irelia!"

Since Doinb started using the mid-lane Irelia build with the W max, he has picked Irelia nine times and won eight of them, achieving a win rate of 88.9%.

However, the only game they lost was against Ming Jing.

During the regular season, when the two teams faced off, Doinb pulled out his long-prepared mid-lane Irelia.

It was clearly the time when the stats were at their strongest after the update, and it was the first time it was used, so it should have been a game-changer. However, in that match, Mingjing's Lee Sin played ruthlessly, kicking the Irelia to death in lane, thus securing the victory.

Later, Mingjing also became a skilled mid-lane Irelia player.

Now, EDG deliberately released Irelia, which clearly shows they were prepared!

The two sides went back and forth, and BP continued.

After picking Irelia, FPX locked in Bomb in the bot lane to complement her, thus providing the necessary AP.

On the other side, EDG locked in Kennen as their top laner.

This Kennen pick left many viewers feeling somewhat uneasy.

Generally speaking, if EDG locks in Kennen early, it means they might be going to pick an AD mid laner, because Viper rarely plays mage bot laners like Bombardier, so AP damage is usually handled by Flandre.

And that was indeed the case. With the draft in its final stage, EDG's mid-lane pick finally came into view!

A hero that had been absent for a long time and was unexpected by everyone appeared in the selection box.

"I walk with death!"

His magnetic voice resonated throughout the venue, eliciting a thunderous roar from the audience!

"Goblin!" the three commentators exclaimed in unison, expressing their astonishment.

"What does this mean?" Miller exclaimed in surprise. "Are they here to play ranked matches?"

It has to be said that in the recent version, there are indeed a lot of Graves mid laners in ranked games.

As the jungle carry meta faded, Graves gradually declined in the jungle, prompting the designers to take pity on him and release several buff patches. Patch 11.11 increased his scaling attack damage, and patch 11.15 increased his base attack damage. In addition, a certain streamer with body odor was promoting Graves every day, which led to Graves dominating the mid lane in the mid-elo!

The commentators are from this rank, and of course they've been tormented by mid-lane Graves a lot.

This hero is incredibly powerful in the mid lane; his long range and strong wave clear make him virtually unstoppable!
However, this hero's weaknesses are also obvious. As a mid-laner, Graves' early game tempo is noticeably weak, and even if he pushes the lane, he can't do much.

To bring them straight to the finals now is just a bit too overconfident.

At this point, the heroes of both sides are determined.

Blue side FPX: Top lane Jayce, Jungle Lee Sin, Mid lane Irelia, Bot lane Bottom lane Leona and Bottom lane Bottom lane

Red side EDG: Top lane Kennen, Jungle Xin Zhao, Mid lane Graves, Bot lane Aphelios and Thresh.

"In that case, the offensive and defensive roles have shifted for both sides," Miller said, looking at the lineups of both teams. "FPX's lineup is clearly stronger in the early game!"

"But EDG's lineup is also pretty good!" Guan Daxiao laughed. "Although EDG's lineup is more focused on late-game power, all three lanes are capable of laning, and they even have a certain degree of initiative! If they play well, they definitely have a chance to trade kills!"

Strictly speaking, this draft was a close match between the two sides.

This is actually quite rare, because with Mingjing, who is a big player in banning characters, EDG's drafting and banning has always been very easy, giving them a natural advantage.

Ultimately, there are two reasons. First, FPX is on the blue side, which greatly reduces their drafting pressure.

Secondly, it was because EDG made the bizarre decision of letting Irelia play and picking Graves.

In this matchup, Graves can at best remain undefeated, but the chances of him gaining a significant advantage are slim.

"Mingjing is under a lot of pressure this game," Kanavi said. "If he doesn't carry, this game will be really tough."

"Don't worry." The toothpaste seemed to trust Mingjing quite a bit. "It's C-grade."

Under the intense scrutiny of everyone, the second game quickly began.

Neither side had any plans for a level 1 team fight; they simply rushed out of their respective fountains.

For EDG, the early laning phase of this game should have been focused on playing it safe, with the goal of winning in the late game.

But a minor commotion still occurred.

In the top lane, Flandre made a small mistake during the laning phase. He originally only wanted to use his three-hit stun to harass Jayce, but he accidentally gave Jayce the range of Sky Leap.

Khan reacted quickly, seizing the opportunity and swiftly using Sky Leap to strike Kennen's face, negating Kennen's stun with the skill's animation!

This obviously caused a big problem. With Flandre slowed down by the hammer, he couldn't create any distance at all!

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Khan unleashed an E [Thunder Strike], then switched to cannon form, followed by an A and W to activate Phase Rush, relentlessly attacking the lane, and finishing with a final acceleration cannon, reducing Flandre's health to below half!

Even more fatal was that JieJie's strategy from the very beginning was to farm downwards, leaving only Flandre in EDG's top half of the map!
Xiaotian had originally planned to tower dive, and now he certainly wouldn't miss this rare opportunity. Lee Sin quickly came to the top lane and ganked Khan, who was pushing the lane into the tower!

The top laner Jayce lacked crowd control and didn't have much tower diving ability, which was a challenge for him. But now that Flandre has reduced his health so much, he's practically walking into FPX's clutches!
Lee Sin landed his Q at close range, then followed up with Thunder Strike and Resonating Strike, instantly dealing two instances of damage and sending Kennen back to the fountain!

"First blood!"

(End of this chapter)